Day Two of Birthday Week

A BIG Happy Birthday to My Mom! May your day be absolutely wonderful!

So as I said yesterday (for those of you that missed it : ) my Mom's Birthday is today & as I went looking for a card already made (sorry Mom) I found lots of wonderful ones to share.

This first one would be perfect for anyone. I am always on the lookout for great neutral birthday cards. I don't send as many guy cards as I do female ones & I am not that great at creating them.

This card was a swap that I received at Stampin' Up Leadership from Melissa Zessin. It uses Punch Bunch stamp set from the Sale-A-Bration Catalog. This stamp set was the most popular stamp set the 1st week of Sale-A-Bration. All of the wonderful stamps in this set coordinate with our awesome punches. This one uses the scallop square punch. The base of the card is very vanilla & the next layer is early espresso. The early espresso designer series paper squares are from the neutral collection patterns designer series paper stack. The ribbon is the striped ribbon in early espresso & very vanilla. Then the image was stamped in early espresso ink on very vanilla cardstock. The ribbon is held in by the dimensionals that hold down that piece.

The second card today just screams Spring. Not sure if it is the colors or the cute frog.

This card I also received while at Leadership Conference. It was designed by Pat Shepherd of Evergreen Colorado. The cardstock colors are poppy parade, daffodil delight & whisper white. The stamp sets used are a flower for all seasons, something to celebrate (level 2 hostess from the Occasions mini catalog). The dotted daffodil delight dots are from the sunny garden designer series paper. The frog image is stamped in basic black ink & colored with poppy parade, daffodil delight, peach parfait, old olive & crumb cake markers. The words are stamped in poppy parade ink. The ribbon is daffodil delight & whisper white striped ribbon with poppy parade stitched ribbon tied around it. Then in the center of each flower is a rhinestone. Just adorable.

I hope your week is going well. Thanks for stopping by.

Another Crazy Week!

So it's another crazy week in store for the Bettenhausen Household. Play practice for my daughter Alexis is really ramping up as we are under a month away until Dunlap High School Present's Phantom of the Opera. She is getting super excited (as are we all). But boy will I be glad when it is over. It's just a lot on top of her already crazy dance schedule...oh yeah plus school. : ) I am getting ready to head north...well northwest. To Minneapolis Minnesota on Friday & Saturday. I will be attending a Stampin' Up Regional. I can't wait to see some of my new friends from Leadership & get even more wonderful ideas. Plus for 2 of my team members it will be their 1st ever Stampin' Up event. Fun girl time. I just love it.
Ok now for some stamping.

This card just makes me think spring. Now maybe it is the pretty flowers, maybe I am sick of cold & snow...I would say probably both. This card uses two of the awesome sets that you can choose from out of the Sale-A-Bration catalog for every $50 in product that you purchase. They are So Happy for You & Sweet Summer. See just the name makes you think of warm weather. Wouldn't that be a great card to send to a friend so that they know you are thinking of them.

This next picture is from the Momento Mall area at Leadership. Momento Mall is exactly what it sounds like. It is a shopping area of products that are available just by attending leadership. Now some times those items that are left over after the event are put up on the Demonstrator Website for purchase. So for those of you that love my purse & wallet, let me know & I can be on the lookout to see if they appear for purchase.

This adorable chicken wire frame was in a few different colors around the store but this one was my favorite. It probably is the pretty pink pirouette color. Let alone the adorable cards that are attached to it. Just love it.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your Monday. Don't forget I am now on Facebook & would love for you to stop by & like my page. Just search for my team name, INKredibly INKspired, to find it or click on the facebook badge on the right side of my blog. That way you never miss a thing.

Buttons Buttons #1 & A Proud Mama Moment

Happy Monday to All! I hope wherever you are at it is not in the line of this snowstorm that we here in Central Illinois are supposed to get clobbered with. Hopefully it is sunny & warm.

So to get us ready to enjoy some time after the weather hits. Here is the first of the 6 cards we will be making at my Button, Button event. All the information can be found on my classes page. Email or call me with any questions or to register.

This cute card is made by fellow Demonstrator, Director & awesome trainer Ronda Wade. It uses the stamp set So Happy for You from the sale-a-bration catalog (which of course you can get for FREE with any $50 purchase). The designer paper is from the Sew Suite collection, it's called Sweet Stitches. Then the buttons are made using the Big Shot & the Sweet Buttons embosslit. Just love it. So simple so cute. If you would like to check out more of Ronda's items click Here.

So as for my proud mama moment...My little guy Robert is about to turn 4 1/2 years old & he has been wanting to put on his own shoes. But his tennis shoes are high tops and hard to get on the way it is. So he was practicing with his slippers. Here he is, not only with his slippers on but on the right feet. Way to go Robert!

Of course he is rolling his eyes at me because he only likes to have his picture taken when he wants to have it taken. Which let me tell you is not very often. : )

My Customer Appreciation Event!

Oh my Goodness...Did I have the best time! Yesterday at my 1st Annual Customer Appreciation Event, I had 10 ladies, 1 of which had never stamped a minutes in her life. It was SO Much Fun. We did 3 make n takes (that I will be sharing with you), gave away a lots of goodies, including big Hershey's kisses & even a copy of My Digital Studio. Yes I said I gave away a copy of My Digital Studio. Joyce is also going to get a one on one lesson with me on how to use it. Thank you Ladies for the super great time yesterday. To Lisa our newbie, I am so glad you enjoyed yourself. Your excitement was so contagious.

OK now onto the stamping. This first card makes me hungry just looking at it. Don't you think?

This great card was designed by Jo Rauch Demonstrator from Oregon. It is made with pink pirouette, early espresso & soft suede cardstock. Then the stamp set is "Eat Chocolate". Yum from the new occasions mini. The punches that are used are 1 3/4" scallop, both tag punches, word window & modern label punches. Then to giv it a bit more texture the early espresso piece is run through the big shot with the Polka dots embossing folders. Just Love embossing folders.

The next card includes the one item in the new occasions mini that I am hoping they continue to have & in more colors. GLITTER PAPER.

This glitter paper is so great. It cuts & punches easy. But best of all the glitter does not come off. Just Love it. This awesome card was designed by Kathy Hilden a demonstrator from Michigan. The great color combination is concord crush, real red & whisper white. One of my favs. The stamp sets are the new Create a Cupcake & the Occasional Quotes (a level 2 hostess set out of the Big catalog - contact me to earn this today). 3 different punches were used, Build a Cupcake (so great that you don't have to cut these shapes out), scallop trim corner & border. Then 2 embossing folders helped give the card some texture, square lattice & polka dots. Then some of the awesome 1/2" Concord Crush Stitched ribbon was added. Just love it.

The last card is one of my own designs & was one of my swaps at Leadership (plus will probably be one at regional too). It is so simple but so pretty. Just don't asked me what happened to this picture. My camera & computer both decided not to like me at the same moment.

The base of the card & the ink used are marina mist (I know it doesn't look like it by the picture). Then I just ran the whisper white piece through the wonderful Big Shot with the elegant lines embossing folder (do you see a theme to yesterday's event). Then I stamped the words & that cute butterfly from the So Happy for You stamp set that you can get free out of the Sale-A-Brations catalog. Just love it. Cute card & something free.

Ok so to end my Sunday post...I have to show you what my husband & I saw on the road on our way home from Nashville.

The official Oscar Meyer Hot Dogmobile. The lady driving it just smiled as I took pictures & laughed as we drove by. But I bet they get that a lot.

Happy Sunday.